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Alexander Pennecuik (1722)
Dr. Alexander Pennecuik (1652 -1722) was a Scottish poet and physician, who wrote mainly in the Scots language. He is often confused with another Alexander Pennecuik, said to be his nephew. Life Pennecuik was the eldest son of Alexander Pennecuik of Newhall, Edinburgh, who had been a surgeon under General Bannier in the 30 Years' War, and afterwards in the army sent from Scotland into England in 1644. In 1646 the elder Pennecuik bought from the Crichtons the estate of Newhall on the North Esk; but the statement that in the following year he sold the barony of Pennecuik to the Clerks seems to be erroneous. To Newhall he added, by his marriage with Margaret Murray, the estate of Romanno, on the other side of West Linton, in Tweeddale.Aitken, 323. An Alexander Pennecuik earned the degree of M.A. at Edinburgh on 18 July 1664; but we know nothing definite about young Pennecuik's medical education. Allusions in his poems, and his knowledge of modern languages, show that he travelled in Spain and other countries. On his return he devoted himself for some years to the care of his father, "a gentleman by birth, and more by merit,’ who seems to have died soon after 1692, when he was over 90. One of Pennecuik's poems is an expression of filial affection. Pennecuik's practice as a physician caused him, as he said, to know every corner of Tweeddale; and at the request of Sir Robert Sibbald, who was preparing an account of the counties of Scotland, he wrote a Description of Tweeddale, with the assistance of John Forbes of Newhall, advocate. The manuscript had been perused by Archbishop Nicholson in 1702; but it was not published until 1715, when it appeared in a small quarto volume, A Geographical, Historical Description of the Shire of Tweeddale, with a Miscellany and curious Collection of Select Scottish Poems. In the dedication to William Douglas, earl of March, Pennecuik said that he had lived in Tweeddale over 30 years; he did not consider the English dialect to be preferable to his own, though it had become modish. Any of the poems which had been printed before had appeared surreptitiously. Pennecuik was interested especially in the botany of the county, and one of the friends with whom he corresponded was James Sutherland, superintendent of the first botanic garden in Edinburgh. Some of the verses addressed to his younger brother, James, an advocate, who wished him to come to Edinburgh, bear testimony to his love of a country life. In 1711 he told Sir Alexander Murray of Stanhope that he had once been a great curler. Pennecuik was a friend of most of the Scottish gentlemen interested in letters to whom Allan Ramsay his obligations. Ramsay visited at Newhall, but not, apparently, until it had passed out of Pennecuik's hands, and there seems no doubt that Newhall was the scene of the Gentle Shepherd. It does not follow, however, that Pennecuik, as has been surmised, suggested to Ramsay the plot of that pastoral poem, which, indeed, did not appear in its complete form until three years after Pennecuik's death; but he not improbably took part in discussions on the subject. In 1702 his elder daughter had married the eldest son of Mrs. Oliphant of Lanton, Midlothian, and Pennecuik gave with her the estate of Newhall. Her husband, however, got into debt, and in 1703 Newhall was sold to Sir David Forbes, father to John Forbes, Pennecuik's friend and Ramsay's patron. Pennecuik lived at Romanno until his death, when he left that property to a younger daughter, who had married Mr. Farquharson of Kirktown of Boyne, Aberdeenshire.Aitken, 324. Pennecuik died in 1722, and was buried in the churchyard at Newlands, by his father's side. Writing Pennecuik's works were reprinted at Edinburgh in 1762 (A Collection of curious Scots Poems … by Alexander Pennecuik); at Leith in 1815, "with copious notes;" and again at Edinburgh in 1875. The poems are chiefly occasional, and frequently in the Scottish dialect. The satires and other pieces possess humour, though they are often coarse. His imitations from earlier and foreign writers are of little interest; the value of his verses lies in the picture they give of the rural life of the time. He cared little for scenery apart from mankind, and had no appreciation for nature in her grander aspects. The following pieces appeared in separate form: 1. ‘Caledonia Triumphans,’ broadside, 1699, reprinted in Laing's ‘Various Pieces of Fugitive Scotch Poetry,’ 1823. 2. ‘A Panegyric to the King,’ broadside, 1699. 3. ‘The Tragedy of Graybeard,’ 1700, 8vo. 4. ‘Lintoun Address to his Highness the Prince of Orange,’ broadside, 1714; this piece was first printed in the first part of Watson's ‘Choice Collection of Scots Songs,’ 1706. Publications *''A Geographical, Historical Description of the Shire at Tweeddale: With a miscelany and curious collection of select Scotish poems'' Edinburgh: John Moncur, 1715. *''A Collection of Curious Scots Poems''. Edinburgh: 1762. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Sep. 3, 2016. Notes External links ;About * Pennecuik, Alexander